CHAPTER 1 - THE GIRL WHO FELL FROM THE SKY
Something was wrong with the sky.
Lyra knew it before the alarms started.
The floating city of Aetherion was never silent. Crystal bridges hummed with magic. Wind bells sang across the towers. Moonlight reflected against glass streets high above the clouds.
But tonight, fear had swallowed everything.
People were running.
The great silver temple behind Lyra shook violently as explosions echoed through the sacred halls. Cracks spread across the crystal walls like spiderwebs, glowing blue from the energy trapped inside them.
“Seal the lower gates!”
“The Wardens are inside!”
“Protect the Starborn!”
The voices blurred together.
Lyra sprinted barefoot through the corridor, her heartbeat hammering painfully in her chest. Her white ceremonial robe was stained with ash and blood she didn’t recognize.
Behind her, heavy armored footsteps thundered closer.
The Wardens.
They had finally come for her.
A blast of energy exploded beside Lyra’s head.
She flinched as crystal shattered across her shoulder. Pain burned through her skin, but she forced herself forward.
Don’t stop.
If they catch you, it’s over.
Another explosion shook the temple so hard the floor tilted beneath her feet. Through the giant crystal windows, Lyra saw something impossible.
Entire sections of Aetherion were falling from the sky.
Floating towers collapsed into the clouds below while fire spread across the distant districts. Smoke covered the stars.
Her stomach twisted in fear.
Aetherion was dying.
“Lyra!”
She turned sharply.
An older woman rushed toward her through the smoke.
Elder Mira.
Relief flooded Lyra instantly.
Mira had raised her inside the temple since childhood. She was the closest thing Lyra had ever known to a mother.
But tonight, Mira looked terrified.
Blood ran down one side of her face.
“The eastern barriers have fallen,” Mira said breathlessly. “You have to leave now.”
“No.” Lyra grabbed her arm. “I’m staying with you.”
“You can’t.”
Another violent tremor shook the corridor.
Mira quickly removed a silver pendant from her neck and pressed it into Lyra’s hand.
The crystal inside the pendant glowed faintly beneath her fingers.
Lyra frowned. “What is this?”
For a moment, Mira said nothing.
Then her voice lowered.
“Your mother gave it to me the night you were born.”
Lyra froze.
“My… mother?”
She had never met her mother. Nobody in the temple would even speak about her.
Before Lyra could ask another question, several glowing spears slammed into the walls behind them.
BOOM.
The corridor exploded apart.
Three armored figures stepped through the smoke.
Black armor.
Golden markings.
Silver masks hiding their faces.
Wardens.
One of them slowly raised a glowing blade toward Lyra.
“By command of Emperor Noctis,” he said coldly, “the Starborn girl will be returned.”
Lyra’s blood turned cold.
Starborn.
That word again.
Nobody would ever explain what it truly meant.
Mira stepped protectively in front of Lyra.
“You will not touch her.”
The lead Warden tilted his head slightly.
“She does not belong to herself.”
Then everything happened at once.
The Wardens attacked.
Blue flames burst through the corridor.
Mira slammed both hands forward, unleashing a wave of white energy that crashed into the attackers hard enough to shatter the walls around them.
“RUN!” she screamed.
Lyra stumbled backward.
“No!”
“GO!”
For one horrible second, Lyra saw fear in Mira’s eyes.
Not fear for herself.
Fear for Lyra.
Tears burned Lyra’s vision as she turned and ran.
The emergency portal chamber stood at the edge of the temple overlooking endless clouds beneath the city.
Wind roared violently through the open structure.
At the center floated a massive circular portal made of blue energy.
But something was wrong.
The portal flickered dangerously.
Unstable.
If it collapsed during transport
The sound of screaming echoed behind her.
Mira.
Lyra stopped breathing.
She almost ran back.
Almost.
Then she remembered the terror in Mira’s eyes.
Run.
Lyra clutched the pendant tightly and jumped into the portal.
Pain exploded through her body instantly.
The world twisted violently around her. Colors stretched unnaturally. Strange whispers filled the darkness.
Then
She fell.
Rain slammed into her skin.
Cold water soaked her clothes as she crashed hard onto solid ground.
Lyra gasped painfully and looked up.
The sky was wrong.
No floating moons.
No crystal stars.
Only dark storm clouds and blinding lights everywhere.
Huge buildings towered over her.
Machines moved across the streets at terrifying speed.
Humans surrounded her shouting excitedly while music shook the air.
Lyra stared in confusion.
What was this place?
A loud engine roared nearby.
Suddenly, bright headlights sped directly toward her.
A black sports car raced through the rain straight at her body.
The crowd screamed.
Lyra reacted instinctively.
Silver energy exploded from her hands.
The car stopped instantly in midair.
Not slowed.
Stopped.
Hovering inches from her.
Silence swallowed the street.
Rain poured around the frozen vehicle while glowing silver markings spread across Lyra’s arms.
Every human nearby stared at her like they had seen a ghost.
Lyra’s breathing became uneven.
Too loud.
Too bright.
Too many people.
Then the driver’s door swung open violently.
A tall dark haired man stepped out into the rain, furious.
“What kind of psycho stands in the middle of a ra_”
He stopped.
His eyes locked onto the glowing silver marks fading slowly across Lyra’s hands.
And suddenly…
the anger disappeared from his face
